The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Carter directs. Bill Roe behind the camera. Mark Snow scores. Richard A. Harris cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 18 years ago.
• 2International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.
• 3Part of the "The X Files Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
• 4269+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
• 5Directed by Chris Carter, shot by Bill Roe. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Mark Snow. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Richard A. Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and Amanda Peet carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "To find the truth, you must believe.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt0443701 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Bill Roe

Original score

Mark Snow

Editing

Richard A. Harris

Production design

Mark S. Freeborn

Makeup / hair

Gitte Axen

VFX supervisor

Mat Beck

Sound

Chuck Michael

Stunt coordinator

Tony Morelli

Runtime

104 min · 1h 44m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$30,000,000

Box office

$69,363,381

Return

231% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

32% 🥫 Rotten

Metacritic

47/100

IMDB rating

5.9/10 · 97,318 votes

MPAA

PG-13

Part of

The X Files Collection

The X-Files (also known as The X-Files: Fight the Future) is a 1998 American science fiction thriller film directed by Rob Bowman. Chris Carter wrote the screenplay. The story is by Carter and Frank Spotnitz. It is the first feature film based on Carter's television series The X-Files that revolves around fictional unsolved cases called the X-Files and the characters solving them. The X-Files has spawned one sequel, a 2008 film entitled The X-Files: I Want to Believe released six years after the series ended.

• 
  The X-Files

  1998
• 
  The X-Files: I Want to Believe

  2008 · this one

Also by

Chris Carter

• 
  Rags to Riches

  1987 · ★ 8.4
• 
  The X-Files

  1993 · ★ 8.4
• 
  The After

  2014 · ★ 6.8

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Vrach Frankenshteyn Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  Together Spot

  Teaser · Official
• 

  ▶
  Online Trailer

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2025-09-03
  ★ 7/10

  Scully and Mulder search wintry landscapes for a modern-day Mengele operation When an FBI agent goes missing in the Greater DC area, Scully and Mulder reunite to help the agency by enlisting the help of a defrocked priest with psychic abilities (Billy Connolly), which leads to grisly revelations. Meanwhile Scully is a practicing doctor intent on saving the life of a boy with a terminal disease. "The X Files: I Want to Believe" (2008) came out a decade after the first movie and six years after the final season of the original run of the TV series. Unlike “Fight the Future,” it doesn’t focus on the alien conspiracy but opts for a monster-of-the-week story. For those not in the know, the series walked the balance beam between these two. Speaking as a very casual viewer, I preferred the MOTW segments because of their uniqueness and increased human interest. The alien conspiracy episodes struck me as boringly redundant even though fans of these segments understandably argue that the fate of humanity and its possible extinction is far greater than all the serial killers and monsters put together. The fact that this second movie focuses on more mundane proceedings never bothered me. After all, we already have the first movie, why redo it? Can it even be topped? So, as far as I’m concerned, it was a good decision to take an entirely different route. The inclusion of the psychic brings to mind the notable “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” episode. This is combined with the basic plot of “Silence of the Lambs,” which involves detectives needing the help of a notorious outcast to find a missing female and capture the serial killer(s). The main differences are the snowy landscapes and the subplot of the boy needing experimental surgery to survive. Being shot in British Columbia with key crew members from the defunct series, it has the tone of the show, just with a bigger budget and a longer runtime. As usual, the proceedings are mysteriously creepy, but lowkey with Scully and Mulder maintaining their renown dispassion. The exception is Scully’s dealings with the dying boy, who is basically her spiritual child. Despite the generally listless air of the investigation (which was an issue with the entire series), there are interesting bits spiced throughout and the final act pays off, at least for me. I’m not so much talking about the grisly Frankenstein bits as Scully’s challenging situation, which is moving. There’s a spiritual depth with focus on moral transgression, penitence and possible redemption, not to mention boldly tackling one of life’s toughest questions: Why does a good God allow evil and suffering? Then there’s the addition of the biblical proverb: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings,” which of course ties into Scully and Mulder’s perpetual search for truth. I saw the Director’s Cut, which runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and includes graphic, disturbing material cut to avoid an R-rating at the theater; the theatrical version runs about 3.5 minutes less. It was shot in British Columbia, specifically the Vancouver area (including Burnaby), and the Pemberton Valley region, including Riverlands, which is located a couple hours’ drive north of the big city. GRADE: B

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• TE

  Ten Thirteen Productions

  US

• DU

  Dune Entertainment III

  US

• CR

  Crying Box Productions

  CA

• 

  20th Century Fox

  US

Key crew

• ProducerChris Carter
• ProducerFrank Spotnitz
• Executive ProducerBrent O'Connor
• Production DesignMark S. Freeborn
• EditorRichard A. Harris
• Costume DesignerLisa Tomczeszyn
• CastingMindy Marin
• CastingCoreen Mayrs
• CastingHeike Brandstatter
• Stunt CoordinatorTony Morelli
• Stunt CoordinatorMike Mitchell
• StuntsChris Atkinson
• StuntsJames Bamford
• StuntsKimberly Chiang
• StuntsDuane Dickinson
• StuntsMike Dobbin
• StuntsBill Edwards
• StuntsChris Webb
• StuntsGuy Bews
• StuntsMelissa R. Stubbs
• StuntsCorbin Fox
• StuntsDean Hart
• StuntsDave Lane
• StuntsMarshall Virtue

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• extraterrestrial technology
• fbi
• alien
• priest
• hospital
• duringcreditsstinger
• based on tv series

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2008-07-23· Hollywood, California
• Theatrical2008-07-25PG-13
• Digital2026-08-14R· Disney+ / Hulu (director's cut)

Also known as

International titles

• The X-Files 2US
• The X Files: Done OneUS
• Цілком таємно: Хочу віритиUA
• 엑스파일: 나는 믿고 싶다KR
• Los expedientes secretos X: Quiero creerMX
• 엑스 파일: 나는 믿고싶다KR
• 엑스 파일: 나는 믿고 싶다KR
• 엑스파일: 나는 믿고싶다KR
• 我要相信：X檔案HK
• X档案：我要相信CN
• The X-Files RégénérationFR
• The X-Files, RégénérationFR
• The X-Files - RégénérationFR
• Arquivo X Eu Quero AcreditarPT
• The X-Files: I Want to Believe Vrach FrankenshteynUS